The best SMB CRM software for the Atlassian ecosystem
Looking for an Atlassian-based CRM solution for your SMB? We break down the key points to keep in mind when choosing CRM software that works alongside Jira, Confluence, Loom and Trello.
When you're already immersed in an incredible product ecosystem (like Atlassian's) you want to make sure that any new tools you introduce to your work-stack interface well with the tools your team's already using.
If you’re a small-to medium sized business (SMB) looking to set up a CRM tool that works well within the Atlassian ecosystem, we’ve created the following guide to help you identify a CRM solution that will suit your current needs – and has the flexibility to adapt with future growth.
💡 Customer service is an important growth driver for many small and medium-sized businesses. Learn more about the benefits of CRM software for small businesses.
Using this guide
Great customer relationship management (CRM) is the foundation of great service (which means happier customers and better sales!), so it’s important to have the right tools and workflows for the job.
This guide has two main parts:
An overview of considerations for choosing a CRM that works well alongside Atlassian tools
An introduction to why we recommend Trello and Email for Trello as a CRM solution
If you'd like to go straight to our recommendation, feel free to jump ahead.
Considerations for an Atlassian-based CRM
When choosing a CRM solution for the Atlassian ecosystem, here are 6 key features to consider.
1. Ease of use within the existing Atlassian interface
You want a CRM that is intuitive and easy to use, as this helps ensure uptake among your team and gets everyone following the right processes. A CRM that exists in the context of the Atlassian ecosystem is particularly useful for ensuring this. Look for a CRM solution that offers your team a way to:
Switch easily between other Atlassian products to locate existing information.
Build a funnel, or a number of funnels, for your client-facing teams (like sales or support).
Create, view and visualize to dos (like deals or help requests) as tickets on a dashboard.
Manage a centralized workspace where everyone can process and collaborate.
2. Integration depth with Atlassian (and other) tools
Integration depth is important for streamlining data transfer between your apps and your systems. Good integration depth means that you can:
Prevent silos between your team and your apps
Ensure continuous integration across your business workflow
3. Customization options to match your workflow
Every team has different needs, so the ability to customize is key! Here are some processes you might be dealing with that you need to consider when choosing a CRM solution for your business.
Managing your contacts and companies – and the to-dos they’re associated with – is more effective and streamlined when you’re collaborating in a single, centralized workspace.
Keeping tabs on interactions and activity is critical because a good CRM system isn't just about storing information – it’s about making that information easy to find and interpret, so that you can take proactive steps to improve your business operations.
Visualizing ongoing to-dos and opportunities is an important consideration, whether you’re managing sales processes, organizing your recruitment pipeline, or running a help desk. Look for a CRM tool that offers a visual way to understand your workflow.
Storing data specific to your team with a degree of flexibility is also important, so that you can organize your to-dos and data in ways that suit your work practices.
Automation is a powerful way to get more done, save team time, and make sure your business processes are consistent. This is an important consideration for any CRM tool, because consistency is an integral part of great customer service.
4. Data synchronization capabilities
A good CRM should not only be able to store and organize your data – but also maintain the ability to ‘speak’ to other tools and apps that you use in your daily work.
If you already use other tools in the Atlassian suite, consider how easy it will be to create a good CRM experience if you need to access information on other platforms like Jira and Confluence.
5. Reporting and analytics features
Make sure your chosen CRM has reporting and analytics features, so that you can review the health of your funnel, spot early warning signs, and optimize accordingly.
6. Scalability as your business grows
Your chosen CRM tool should be able to adapt to your business needs as you grow. Start simple – more bells and whistles don’t always mean better functionality.
How to transform Trello into your dream CRM
Based on the considerations outlined above, let's unpack why Trello and Email for Trello make a great choice as an Atlassian-based CRM tool.
1. Trello is an Atlassian tool
For SMBs in the Atlassian ecosystem, we recommend Trello and the Email for Trello Power-Up as a powerful duo for managing your CRM. Together, this combination offers features tailored to customer relationship management, while leveraging the power of the Atlassian platform.
With the Email for Trello Power-Up, the Trello interface is the scaffold for your workflow, and the Power-Up is the CRM tool that helps you manage your email communications and customer data. This way, your team has access to all their to-dos, emails and customer information from one centralized dashboard – eliminating the need for context-switching and reducing the potential for information gaps to creep in.
Find out more about how to use Trello for your business workflow.
💡 TIP Getting your team to adopt any new software can be tricky. Read our practical tips for how to manage the change and set your team up for success with email in Trello.
2. Trello integrates natively with other Atlassian tools
Trello is designed to complement other tools in the Atlassian suite – from Jira to Confluence, and Loom. It also offers built-in integration with other popular work tools like Slack, Google Drive and Microsoft Teams, so that you can use all your existing apps within a single system.
💡 TIP Trello can also be customized with other incredibly useful Power-Ups. But with 200+ integrations in the Trello Power-Up directory, it can be difficult to know where to start! We’ve handpicked the best Power-Ups across seven different business functions, so that you can get more value out of your Trello workflow.
3. Trello can be customized to match your workflow
Tracking contacts and companies
For sales teams working in Trello, Email for Trello’s contact management feed makes it easy to see all your recent deals, emails and contacts at a glance – giving your team a useful snapshot of sales activity across the board.
Organization groups also help you sort contacts according to companies you might be working with now, or in the future.
Keeping tabs on interactions and activity
The Email for Trello contact overview allows you to view all cards, emails and notes associated with an individual contact, so that you can drill down into the specifics of your interactions, and plan to improve your communication accordingly.
Visualizing ongoing to-dos and opportunities
Trello’s visual layout of ‘cards in lists’ is based on the Kanban system. Each card moves from left to right through a series of lists that represent the different stages in your workflow. This makes it easy to monitor progress, spot bottlenecks, and identify opportunities to improve your customer service.
💡 TIP Find out more about how to use Kanban to organize your inbox and up your email productivity.
Storing data specific to your team
Instead of pre-configured fields that prescribe how work is done, Trello Custom Fields are a great way to create a highly-tailored solution for organizing the information that’s important to your team and clients (like the priority of a task, sales figures, or company details).
Opportunities to automate your pipeline
Here are a few ways Trello and the Email for Trello Power-Up can help you automate your CRM processes:
Drag a card to send an email. Set up an Trello automation rule to automatically send an email when you drag a card from one list to another. For example, send a meeting invitation when you drag a card into ‘Product Demo’.
Automatically send a follow-up email. This useful Trello automation can automatically send a follow-up email after a chosen period of time. No need to mentally remember your follow-ups – they’ll be automatically sent on time, every time!
Send out a ‘ticket assigned’ email. Manage customer expectations and add a personal touch with automated email notifications for your help desk. Here’s how to automatically send your customer an email when a team member is assigned to a card in Trello.
For more ideas about how to automate your CRM admin, have a look at our 10+ automations to try in Trello.
4. Data synchronization capabilities when working in Trello
Because Trello is in the Atlassian suite, it’s much easier for your team to access information on other platforms like Jira and Confluence.
Power-Ups are also a great way to get your favorite work tools synced up with your Trello board. The Email for Trello Power-Up even makes it easy to import contacts into Trello – and export them for data backup, sharing with team members, or integration with other tools if needed.
💡 TIP Import a CSV file to Trello and Blue Cat’s Import to Trello Power-Up will create cards from the data for you! Great for spreadsheets of sales or other data that you need to get into Trello quickly.
5. Reporting and analytics features with Trello
Trello’s built-in dashboard view is a useful way to track the performance of your boards, allowing you to:
Visualize stats about team performance with bar graphs, pie charts and line charts of cards per list, label and member.
Monitor goals and hit deadlines by building reports based on cards per due date.
💡 TIP Need to generate custom in-depth Trello reports? Try the Reports by Blue Cat Power-Up.
6. Trello scales with you as your business grows
With Trello’s scalable pricing options, you can start with what you need – and upgrade to another plan later. Instead of paying for complicated software with a lot of features you don’t need, you can extend the functionality of your Trello board with Power-Ups.
Find out more about how to choose Power-Ups that will add value to your Trello board.
The pros of using Trello as your CRM
Using Trello as an Atlassian-based CRM has some key advantages.
It’s fully customizable. Trello offers the ability to integrate and use third-party apps, and it is seamless with other tools in the Atlassian suite.
It’s flexible. Trello can be set up to suit your current team’s needs, saving you money on features you wouldn’t otherwise use. As your team and business grows, you have the flexibility to add features and functionality as you need them.
It’s low to no-code. With built-in automation options and an intuitive visual interface, Trello is easy for anyone on the team to use.
Why we recommend avoiding using Jira as a CRM instead of Trello
Jira isn’t the best fit for a CRM because it was built for tracking projects and managing tasks, not handling customer relationships. Here’s why it often falls short as a CRM:
Limited customer focus. Jira is set up for issues and tickets, not people or accounts. It doesn’t provide an easy way to view customer profiles, interaction history, or contact details in a customer-centric way.
Poor lead management. Unlike CRMs, which focus on leads and sales pipelines, Jira lacks features to track sales stages, follow-ups, or customer engagement insights.
Minimal sales tools. Sales teams need tools like email integration, automated reminders, and lead scoring, which Jira doesn’t offer. This can make it hard to stay on top of deals or to nurture customer relationships.
No reporting for sales metrics. Jira’s reports are designed for project progress, not for tracking revenue, conversion rates, or other CRM-specific metrics that sales teams care about.
Read more about how strategic contact management in Trello can help your team engage leads and improve sales.
The best CRM for the Atlassian ecosystem
A solid CRM system is important for optimal sales performance and customer service. By combining Trello with the Email for Trello Power-Up, you can create a solution with robust functionality that is tailored to your team’s CRM needs, while still leveraging the power of the Atlassian platform.
